PA advocates achieve major workforce victory.

The Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions, Keystone Research Center, PathWays PA, PA Partners and other workforce leaders from across the state achieved a major win after working together to protect their state’s sectoral strategy infrastructure. After a vigorous statehouse battle, Pennsylvania lawmakers—led by Senator Brubaker (R-36)—voted unanimously to permanently establish the Industry Partnerships program as part of the state's workforce development strategy.

Since 2005, Pennsylvania’s Industry Partnerships (IPs)—involving over 6,300 employers and training over 117,000 workers—have served as a national model. However as NSC and other partners have been striving to replicate Pennsylvania’s success at mainstreaming sector strategies nationally, Pennsylvanians have been battling to save their own flagship initiative. Pennsylvania’s IPs originally started off as former Governor Rendell’s “Job Ready PA” initiative, receiving $91 million in both new and aligned funding. The goal of the initiative was to train more workers, both incumbent and job-seeking, for high-demand occupations. Core to its success had been the funding dedicated solely to training through these partnerships.

Under a changed economic and political climate, the IP training funds were zeroed out in Governor Corbett’s 2011-2012 budget proposal. Though a small amount ($1.6 million) was included in the budget to support the partnerships themselves, this cut to training was not taken lying down. The Pennsylvania Fund for Workforce Solutions with Keystone Research Center in coordination with PathwaysPA, PA Partners and others, called on Pennsylvanians to protect Industry Partnerships. Working with stakeholders statewide they built support to permanently establish IPs by statute via SB 552. This bill was introduced by Senator Brubaker (R-36) and after picking up 36 cosponsors in the Senate was unanimously passed through both chambers. The bill was signed into law by Governor Corbett on July 7.

Though the battle to adequately fund the IPs will continue (they had previously been funded at $20 million per year, so have been cut over 90 percent since the 2008-2009 budget), the outcry of employers, educators, labor, Chambers of Commerce, workforce boards and other stakeholders throughout the state has resonated, taking Industry Partnerships from simply being a former governor’s “big idea” to state law.